Plus, why rhythmic music triggers automatic bopping and blinking ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
March 11, 2026—The lasting gut impact of antibiotics, the source of the universe's brightest supernovae and the origin of magic mushrooms. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | An artist's conception of a magnetar beaming out radiation. Astronomers found an extra-bright supernova powered by such an engine. Joseph Farah/Curtis McCully | | Superluminous supernovae, massive exploding stars which can shine more than 10 times brighter than normal supernovae, get their exceptional glow from central stellar remnants called magnetars, a new study concludes. These city-sized, fast-spinning balls of neutrons—"the weirdest chunks of matter in the cosmos," writes Scientific American's Joseph Howlett—arise from extreme physics. Based on observations of a recent superluminous supernova, SN 2024afav, the study's authors showed that immense energy pumped from a magnetar was the best explanation for the supernova's luminosity and longevity. Why this is cool: The observations of SN 2024afav also marked the first time that physicists have witnessed the birth of a magnetar, Howlett reports. Magnetars are a type of neutron star with magnetic fields up to 1,000 times stronger than normal. What the experts say: "Everything about the system is extreme. The gravitational field is strong enough for the most exotic predictions of general relativity to be large effects," says Adam Ingram, an astrophysicist at Newcastle University in England. | | | Intestinal infections vaccine | New safety and efficacy results in children look positive for a vaccine being developed to protect against intestinal infections with "enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli" (ETEC) bacteria. These bacteria are the most common cause of potentially deadly childhood diarrhea in low-income regions. The vaccine—called ETVAX—provided immunity against the bacteria and had no adverse side effects, reports freelance science and health journalist Sahas Mehra. The rationale: Beyond travelers' diarrhea, ETEC infections can lead to malnourishment in children below the age of five. Such infections cause up to 42,000 deaths annually. The vaccine might provide partial protection against multiple gut pathogens, Mehra reports. What the experts say: An already approved oral cholera vaccine partially protects against some forms of ETEC diarrhea, but these cholera vaccines can build protection against "only a few different types of bacteria," says immunologist Ann-Mari Svennerholm, who co-authored the study. For the new vaccine, she and her team devised a formula using the four most common "adhesin" proteins, molecules that allow the bacteria to latch onto intestinal mucosa and that are found on the vast majority of enterotoxigenic E. coli. | | | | |
An affection for apples ran through my childhood. My grandparents cared for three prolific apple trees on their Upstate New York property. Every winter, Grandma's fruit cellar was lined with jars of sliced apples and other produce. And grandparental gifts to my family included jars and bottles of apple jam, apple jelly and apple wine. My father would impress us by eating apples in their entirety, pectin-packed cores and seeds alike. Dad and his sister Judy were also nationally ranked vegetable judges, but not long ago, researchers developed an app to help assess apple health. Anyway, Happy Johnny Appleseed Day. | | We always like to hear from you. Please send any comments, questions or thoughts to: newsletters@sciam.com. Thanks for reading. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | | |
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